THR's cover star, Jeremy Renner, is poised to become a leading many this year, starring in two major films of 2012: The Avengers (opening in theaters in May) and The Bourne Legacy (hitting theaters in August).
For THR's cover shoot, Renner was photographed by Kurt Iswarienko on March 30 at the Thompson Beverly Hills Hotel.
In May, Renner tests the blockbuster waters as archer Hawkeye, one member of the all-star cast of superheroes in Disney and Marvel's $220 million The Avengers.
Renner made his breakthrough as the bomb defuser Sgt. William James in 2008's The Hurt Locker. The actor earned his first Oscar nomination for playing the veteran leader of the three-man bomb disposal team.
"He doesn¹t just have the guts to do the stunts," says Marvel Studios president and Avengers producer Kevin Feige, "but also a level of knowledge and skill that's impressive."
Renner drew a second Oscar nomination for his role as the hotheaded James Coughlin in The Town. His character helps his childhood friend Douglas "Doug" MacRay (Ben Affleck) stage his heists in the crime drama, which was also directed by Affleck.
Renner was born in 1971 in Modesto, Calif., and is the eldest of six children. His parents worked in a bowling alley. "I try to keep my life private," Renner told THR.
"He's an amazing fighter his fight work is wonderful: precise, heroic, and you seldom have to double him," says Avengers director Joss Whedon of Renner.
Shooting The Avengers, which opens in theaters in May, involved challenging fight sequences, which led to an injury in which Renner sprained his neck and ripped a back muscle.
Renner's busy film schedule (in addition to James Gray's Low Life, he signed on as Hansel in the Will Ferrell-produced comedy-horror Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters for MGM) nearly left him out of the running for The Bourne Legacy.
In addition to being an actor, Renner is a singer-songwriter, guitarist, keyboardist and drummer. He performed on the soundtrack for The Assassination of Jesse James.
Renner initially hesitated when he was offered the role in Bourne Legacy. "It was a game-changer in anonymity," he says. "I had to consider how this was going to affect everyone I love — especially myself."
Renner was supposed to first be seen in Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters in March. But on Jan. 9, Paramount shifted the release of its action-oriented take on the fairy tale to January 2013, in part because the studio is betting that Renner will be a bigger global star after Avengers and Bourne.